During the post production section of my narrative music video I made various decisions about the editing style I was going to use and the reason why I felt this editing style was successful, below I will outline my reasoning behind why I chose each cut.
For scene 1 I decided to cut out where Graham (Steve Maloney) comes into the garden as this did not establish any importance in the scene, instead I chose a wide shot of him in the garden, followed by a cut showing a medium shot of him walking up the steps, then a close up shot of him entering the house, the use of quick cuts between wide, medium and close up helped to give the viewer a more fluid experience as opposed to a tracking shot which would have been needless because it would not have progressed the scene in any real way. The choice to then cut from Graham as he enters the house, to walking into the bedroom was used as again it gives the footage more of a seamless transition as opposed to the original shots I was going to use which was a long tracking shot of him walking up the stairs and into the bedroom. I decided against using long tracking shot because they do not progress the story unless there is a real intention behind them, the use of a tracking shot to simply take a character from one area to another is not needed so this was my decision behind using a seamless cut from Graham entering the house to then entering the bedroom, as he takes off his blazer he sits down on the bed, looking exhausted as I hold the shot on Graham with a medium shot of him which establishes his position in the room. I chose the cut from the entrance of the house of the bedroom because I did not feel that it would jar the viewer in anyway but would engage them more.
I then cut from Graham sitting on the bed exhausted to his girlfriend entering the room a short while later to join him in bed. The reason why I chose this cut was due to the fact that it showed time passing between Graham entering the room and sitting thinking and then it creates a good transition to his girlfriend entering the room to join him. I then used a medium shot to signify that Graham and his Girlfriend are close and in each other's arms resting.
I then cut from Graham relaxing in bed with his girlfriend to Graham wandering the street contemplating life and pondering his situation. The decision behind selecting this cut was to show the unravelling of Graham's situation, the early shots show the comfort of his relationship as everything in his life is going as good as can be, the cuts to him walking alone show a time when he is struggling with loneliness and also struggling to find his place in the world. My decision behind choosing the next cut was to show Graham as we learn that things are not right in his relationship, this is signified by Graham giving his girlfriend flowers, this is to show that Graham is feeling like his relationship with his girlfriend is drifting away and as a way of reconnecting with her he decides to give flowers to show he stills cares.
The shots of Graham giving his girlfriend the flowers and her indifferent reaction to this is then cut with Graham as he walks along the street, wandering lonely with no sense of direction. After Graham's long walk, I cut to imagery of him entering the house shocked and upset he finds his girlfriend in bed with a new man. I then chose to cut to Graham walking again to show the build up of thoughts in his mind and the progression of his frustration and loss is amplified through the imagery of Graham walking isolated and along the hills.
Importantly I then cut to Graham venting his rage and frustration at his girlfriend's new lover, the choice to select this scene was significant as it shows the build up of anger between him walking alone lost and lonely, the thoughts in his mind are signified through the use of quick cuts and then finally the scene with him arguing with the new partner signifies that all the emotion he has held in my mind is finally being released.
Notably I then juxtapose this visually with imagery of Graham as he has a breakdown, sobbing as he has his life turned upside down. Again I choose to cut to Graham walking along the hills as it signifies that the hills are his only friend, this imagery is important throughout the whole of the music video, Graham's progression from a comfortable situation to his life dismantling before him, the idea is that Graham never wants to feel this way again.
My next cut was to Graham crying and weeping as his girlfriend tells him about her abortion, originally I shot wide shots of Graham entering the room but in the final edit I chose to use a close up shot of Graham upset as he learns even more devastating news, this puzzles Graham as he cannot understand why life has been difficult for him and why he has been treated this way. Again I chose to cut to Graham walking through the hills, this imagery is evident throughout the music video to depict the idea of Graham going through a journey much like most people in life do.
I then chose to cut to a wide shot of Graham in a room meditating and feeling at ease with the world, I then cut to a medium shot and finally to a close up to show the level of calmness and tranquillity of Graham as he sits in a calmer place.
My decision behind choosing the next scene was to show Graham accepting that his girlfriend has a new lover and how he is coming to terms with a devastating loss in his life. The choice and decision behind the next close up is the saddened emotion on Graham's face as he blames himself for not helping more but also feels upset as all he ever wanted was his girlfriend's life.
From this we cut to Graham all alone in his bed, the use of a cross dissolve with edge balance shows an image of his girlfriend which is meant to depict a memory of time before when they were together, it also shows the emptiness in Graham's situation as he now sleeps alone. I then chose a white flash to signify a flashback, this cuts to a more happier period as Graham and his then girlfriend watched TV and relaxed. This cut was used to display that Graham did experience happier period in his life and that not everything was dark and upsetting.
Finally the last sequence I cut to Graham as he overlooks the pond, the visual symbolism showing that Graham is thinking and imagining a new happier place in the future. This is meant to display Graham thinking about his future and if he will ever truly be happy.
I then intercut images of Graham at the pond to images of a happy family enjoying a birthday and making time for love and happiness. The use of intercutting was to display that Graham is dreaming of a future where he will be happy, I then cut back to images of him at the pond again to show his current state, finally ending the music video as he looks out in the distance, this is to signify his unsure thoughts on what the future holds.
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